


Unmasked

by lisedelorme



Category: Cardinal (TV 2017)
Genre: A small amount of smut, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Virus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26113729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisedelorme/pseuds/lisedelorme
Summary: Due to certain circumstances, John and Lise are forced to delve a bit deeper into their relationship.
Relationships: John Cardinal & Lise Delorme, John Cardinal/Lise Delorme
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Unmasked

The masks were mandatory. In the precinct, at crime scenes, canvassing, speaking with families, even while carpooling. They seemed to be wearing them more than not. With a few exceptions, of course....

No one was aware that the partners were seeing each other outside of work so the two played the part in front of their co-workers, no undressing with the eyes, no display of intimacy in any way, shape or form. It turned out to be quite difficult. It’s not as easy as you would think to sleep with someone in the morning and then have to sit across from them all day as if you hadn’t. _It only made sense that when they were alone, the masks came off._

* * *

That afternoon, Cardinal had waited until they were a few blocks away from work before pulling over to the side of the road. They moved in sync, leaning across the middle divider, their mouths anxiously finding one another’s.

“I hate these things.” she murmured against his lips

He kissed her, softly, and felt her body relax. He had been feeling a little tense too but the sensation of her tongue brushing against his seemed to alleviate it. Those intimate moments, when it was just the two of them, were the  best part of his day. It was then, that they felt closer than ever.

Sometimes Cardinal felt as if he could never get enough of her and he wondered if it would always feel that way. Their relationship wasn’t all sexual, but he couldn’t lie, a good portion of it was. She always seemed to want him and the feeling was more than mutual. Working all day, side by side, the sexual tension seemed to build up with each passing hour, and having to hide their attraction to one another upped the ante.

When they left work, both said very little during the drive back to his place. Not until they crashed through the front door, usually slamming it closed with her body, as he pressed her up against the hard oak.

Lise was loud. Which surprised him at first but truthfully, so was he.. He  hadn’t been before her but Lise had a way of bringing things out in him that even he was unaware of. It made him grateful that his daughter no longer lived at home. They never needed to stifle themselves and not having to worry about neighbours either, was another added bonus. His partner would cry out, in the middle of the night, praising him in french, or cursing in his ear and he had no idea what she was saying but truthfully, she could read the phone book and he would probably get hard.

The woman had a masters degree in dirty talk. Filthy talk, really.

They fucked on every surface of his home, whatever was closest when the mood struck. She was so young and taut and tight, and with every thrust inside her beautiful body, he wondered what he did to deserve her.  Somehow she seemed to feel the same for him, which he couldn’t fathom for the life of him.

He worried, in the beginning of their relationship that he wouldn’t last long enough for her and that was true, at first - but she worked him so well, over time his stamina grew stronger and stronger.

Four or five days of the week she would stay the night with him but  _always_ after the difficult days; toiling over gruesome crime scene photo’s, overseeing autopsies, hitting dead end after dead end in certain cases. If she crawled under the sheets beside him and wrapped her limbs around his, they both felt at peace. Sometimes if she was restless, she would wake him with her mouth and they would end up making love in the early morning hours, both still half asleep, their bodies moving at a slow and leisurely pace. In those moments she would always press her forehead into the crook of his neck and whimper softly with every gentle stroke he gave her. She was her most vulnerable then and he would whisper soothing words against her cheek, eventually pushing her over the edge.

_Those_ were the moments he yearned to hold her there like that against him, forever. To keep her safe. To keep what they had between them, frozen in time.

The truth was, he loved her. More than he ever thought he could possibly love another human being after Catherine. It was a rare kind of love. One born of tragedy and trauma; a deep loneliness they both felt in their bones. Though slowly, those feelings no longer weighed out. They were still there, the grief for him and the deep seated fear of abandonment for her. But the intimacy and trust fed off of those things, and grew stronger than those that broke them.

Lise put up with his bullshit; his crankiness and long stretches of silence. But she also had no problem calling him out when he pissed her off. Their arguments were the opposite of volatile. Both being such quiet, introverted people, they were able to forgive easily, without day long silent treatments and long drawn out conversations. More often than not they would apologize in ways that worked for them. With their bodies, with a coffee in the morning or a gentle squeeze of their fingers.. and that was enough. They didn’t seem to get on each other’s nerves very often, maybe due to the fact that their relationship had started out as a partnership. Learning to trust someone you barely know, with your life turned out to be the perfect foundation to build a strong and unfaltering bond upon.

* * *

_ What had they been talking about again? The masks? _

As they sat in his car, she cupped his cheek, grazing her fingers through his facial hair, and he practically purred. His beard itched  _all_ the time  under the scratchy polyester fabric.

“Do they have to  match ?” He huffed in blatant revulsion.

She pulled the visor down in front of her, using the mirror to fix her hair.

“Dyson said the commissioner thought it showed ‘ a sign of solidarity’ .” She spoke around the bobby pin clutched between her teeth.

Cardinal scoffed. He was all for safety and had no issue wearing a mask anywhere, but wearing one with the ABPD logo, dead center with his badge number set off to the side was a bit much.

She faced him again, leaning in to rub her thumb against his bottom lip, clearing away the subtle lipstick marks she’d left behind.

“At least you wear it better than McCleod..”

“Hah.”

He stole a quick kiss and she smiled mischievously.

“ _Vous rendez le masque sexy._ ”

“Is there no french word for sexy?

“Do you _want_ one?”

He held back a smile.

“I need coffee.” She announced.

“We’ll stop on the way.”

* * *

Lise ran in to grab their order while he stayed in the idling SUV, keeping things warm. After a few minutes had passed, he pulled out a thick paperback from his small horde under the dashboard and started reading. A couple more minutes passed after that and then a sudden, loud commotion seemed to spill out of the storefront. His hand instinctively hovered over the glock at his waist as he watched a heavy set man take off running - surprisingly fast for someone his size. Following close behind was his partner, right on his heels, yelling for the man to stop. Cardinal threw open his door and set off at a sprint, attempting to catch up to them.

“ _STOP_!” She shouted.

Just as he crested the small hill, he watched as Lise tackled the man from behind. The two slid around on the icy pavement, fighting for control. Lise swung her head back hard, intentionally connecting with his face and judging by the immediate flow of blood, she had broken his nose.

“You stupid _bitch_!”

By the time Cardinal reached her side, panting, she had flipped the man onto his stomach and was holding his hands behind his back. 

“Cuffs.” 

Cardinal pulled the spare shackles from his jacket pocket and tossed them to her. 

“You fucking bitch! _I’ll kill you_.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She muttered.

“ _YOU’RE DEAD, BITCH!_ ”

“How ‘bout you shut the fuck up and stay still.” Cardinal barked.

“I would if that stupid cunt hadn’t broken my nose!” 

Lise locked the cuffs extra tight and got to her feet.

“I called for backup inside before he took off. Cruiser should be here any minute.” 

“What happened?” He asked

“The guy was causing a scene, he refused to put a mask on and then lost it when they asked him to leave. He started ranting and raving and then just as I began announcing myself, he threw a hot coffee in the barista’s face and slipped past me out the door.”

“ _Christ_.”

“Can you call in for EMS? The girl might have second degree burns.”

“Yeah.”

Cardinal walked off, putting the call in and watched from afar as the cruiser pulled up beside Lise. She tugged the dumbass to his feet not saying a word while he kept mouthing her off. When she turned him, to duck his head from hitting the roof, he spat in her face. 

“I hope you catch it you dumb bitch!” 

Lise stumbled back a few steps and wiped furiously at her face. The officer next to her quickly shoved him into the backseat, slamming the door shut. Later, Cardinal wouldn’t even remember running across the street but there he was, yelling at the man through the closed window. 

Cardinal felt his blood pressure skyrocket and he shoved his finger into the window. “ _You just got yourself a felony charge, you little prick_.”

“Cardinal! Leave it!” 

He slammed his hand angrily against the cruiser. 

“Get him out of my sight!”

After the cruiser pulled away, Lise stood behind him with her hands on her hips, her breath left her mouth in quick little puffs, that floated out into the cold November air. 

“Can you go get the car?” she asked, “I’ll wait here.”

“Lise-“ 

“Just go. Please.”

* * *

He pulled over to the side of the road and threw her door open for her but she wouldn’t get in. 

“Put your mask on.” She barked at him.

“Why?”

“He spit in my face, Cardinal! I lost my mask in the chase and he spat at me.” 

“Lise.”

“Ces putains de masques, ce putain de virus, maintenant je ne peux plus travailler, voir mon copain ou quitter mon putain d'appartement! _Merde_!

Her hands gestured furiously in the air, the way they always did when she spoke angrily, in her native tongue.

He inhaled deeply, “I’m not putting my mask on, Delorme. Lets go.”

“ _Cardinal_! Do it now. You’re seeing Kelly this weekend.” 

She pinched the bridge of her nose, attempting to calm herself down.

“I have to tell Dyson. I’ll be off work for two goddamn weeks now, quarantining-“

“Lise.” 

“What?” She yelled.

“Get in the car!” He yelled back, in the same frustrated tone.

“Put your mask on or I’ll walk back.”

He growled, agitated beyond belief. Yanking his mask from the cup holder, he made a show of wrapping the loops around each ear. 

“Happy?”

She grumbled something under her breath as she got into the passenger’s side. 

And then they were on their way back to the precinct, no coffee or conversation to be had. 

* * *

Cardinal’s cellphone rang, automatically connecting to the car’s bluetooth.

“What.” he snapped

“Well, don’t we sound chipper.”

“ _Kular_.” Cardinal clenched his teeth behind the piece of fabric.

“Sheesh okay, okay. Look, Dyson heard what happened, she wants Lise to call her. Is everyth-“

Cardinal hung up. After a few more heavy minutes of silence, he glanced over at his partner. Her head lay back against the headrest and her eyes were closed, making it difficult for him to read her face but her body language spoke for itself.He felt like an jerk. 

He switched on his signal and turned into the empty parking lot of some run down secondhand book store and killed the engine.  Wearing the mask, felt more ridiculous than ever. He would’ve ripped the thing off if she wasn’t so upset. 

“Delorme.”

She turned her head and he finally had a chance to really _see_ her, and what he saw was raw emotion. Her eyes were flooding with tears that precariously hung in the balance. He hated it when she cried. It didn’t happen often but on the rare occasion it did, those big, shiny doe-eyes broke his heart.

“Talk to me.”

“John, you’re older than me-“

“I thought we established this already.”

She didn’t smile. 

“You’re more susceptible to this virus.” she whispered, “I won’t be the reason something happens to you.”

_ Oh. That was why she was so upset? _

“Wait, hold on-“

“When we were on the ground that guy said he  just got out of prison, Cardinal. Do you know how many inmates have contracted this thing? You heard him, he said ‘I hope you catch it.’” 

Cardinal’s fist clenched against his thigh.

“He was just fucking with you. Lise, you _know_ they test everyone before being released.”

“ John .”

“Okay. I understand what you’re saying.” He sighed and reached across the console to snag her hand, locking his grip before she could tug it away. 

“Car-“

“I’ll use hand sanitizer.” He reasoned.

She frowned, sending a tear streaming down her cheek and he caught it, swiping it away with his thumb.

“I’ll take you to the clinic now, you can get the test, and then go home and call Dyson.” 

He squeezed her fingers reassuringly but she still looked so anxious. 

“Baby, look at me.” He said, huskily.

She did.

“Everything’s gonna be _fine_.”

It occurred to him then, that he had never used that term of endearment with her before. It had slipped out so naturally.. He kind of liked the way it sounded and he could tell she did too by the look in her eyes. 

She laced her fingers through his and he started the car. 

* * *

Cardinal sat with Lise in the parking lot of her complex while she spoke to Dyson over the phone. 

“No, I understand... I will... thanks Noelle. Yep, you too. Bye.”

She hung up and looked over at him with sad eyes.

“Well, I’m officially on leave for two weeks.”

He nodded, unsure of what to say.

“Call me tomorrow.” she smiled weakly, “You can fill me in on any new leads.“

“I will.” He rasped, missing her already.

She leaned in close, just  barely pressing her lipsagainst his mask. He could feel her mouth curve into a smile. 

“Okay, au revoir.” She whispered.

But before she had a chance to shut the door behind her, he spoke. 

”I-“

She waited, patiently and he watched as light, little snowflakes began to fall, landing softly against her hair and long lashes.

“I _love_ you, Lise. You know that...right?”

She tilted her head to the side and smiled, her cheeks noticeably pink.  _ She knew. _

He pulled his mask down. “I just don’t want you to think that- that what we have is just something..  _ physical._” he murmured, feeling embarrassed by his choice of words, “It’s not to me.”

“Its not to me either.”

“That guy earlier, when he- I just couldn’t stand it.. I’m thinking about retiring.”

She stood there, frozen in place. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, but the events of the day seemed to have solidified the decision for him.

“I can’t work with you anymore.”

“John, what are you talking about?” Her eyes widened significantly.

“ _You come first for me now, Lise_.” he heard the crack in his voice and shook his head, searching for the right words, something he never seemed capable of doing. “I can’t be a detective if my priority is you. And it  _ is _ ... _you_.”

He awkwardly shifted his gaze to his hands, in an attempt to keep his emotions in check.

“It’s okay to have doubts or worry about us out in the field but John, we-“

“It’s what I want.” He said forcefully.

“You don’t want to be a detective?”

“I want  _ you _ more. And that’s enough for me.” He watched a single tear slip from the corner of her eye and he could feel himself folding, emotionally. 

“I’m too old for this job, anyways.” he mumbled, “Some of us need to know when it’s time to say ‘when’.”

She mashed her lips together, fighting the tears.

“Don’t cry, come here.” He said quietly.

She nodded and hopped back in the SUV. 

“Put your mask back on.”

“Come stay with me. We can quarantine together.”

“ _Cardinal_. Dyson needs one us.” 

“She can use McCleod. Maybe he’ll actually earn his pay check for once..”

“Okay, and what if I have it? What if I give it to you?”

He exhaled slowly, “I don’t care.” 

“You should.”

“I don’t.”

She scanned his eyes, deep in thought. He didn’t know what she was looking for but he hoped she could see... everything. He no longer had anything to hide. Not from her. He felt unmasked in more ways than one. 

She nodded to herself, satisfied with her findings and leaned in to kiss him lightly on the lips. He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her back. It wasn’t their usual kind of reunion. It wasn’t frantic or needy, it wasn’t even sensual. It was a solidification of who they were and what they meant to one another but more than that, it was trust. Something both of them had spent their entire lives struggling with. 

_ But not anymore. _

**Author's Note:**

> I contemplated not posting this, mostly because I don’t want it to seem as if I am making light of the pandemic or all of the lives lost to this horrible virus. I promise you, this is anything but. I chose not to name it, not that it really matters since we all know what it is.. This little story came to me last night, kind of out of nowhere.. Certain circumstances can put a strain on relationships of any kind and this was a showcase of that, I guess? I don’t know. I wanted a bit of smut but also some angst so this is what it morphed into. I hope I haven’t triggered anyone with this subject and if so, please tell me and I will take it down immediately.


End file.
